


The Gap Years

by peachskip



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: High School, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:00:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21844075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachskip/pseuds/peachskip
Summary: They were each other's companions since day one. When hitting the lowest point of their relationship, Eren decided to call the friendship off. After years of not talking to each other what led to their reunion was one bad math grade and a drunken Armin. What followed comprised of many awkward moments and lots of sexual tension...
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Mikasa Ackerman/Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Erwin Smith
Comments: 20
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first work! I just wanted to join the community finally are reading so many wonderful fanfics! I wanted to tell a refreshing high school story between two former best friends. Feel free to leave comments and give me tips to become a better writer! Let's begin!

“Mikasa please leave me alone!” he pushed her shoulders.

Mikasa gasped as she looked into his eyes. They were serious with no hint of teasing like they usually held. Eren was seething mad this time. They got into one of their many arguments. Usually, the matter would resolve itself by the end of the week, however, this moment was a breaking point for Eren. For a long time, he's always felt like Mikasa was a second mother to him. Everything he did was under two pairs of scrutinizing eyes instead of one. He felt as if she held him back from doing many activities that a young boy should do all because she was worried about his well being. The main problem this time around involved Mikasa wanting Eren to quit the football team due to his recent concussion. She would scold Eren each time he mentioned his football practices to her. It was like their friendship was based on bickering. When was the last time they had a decent conversation about life? Mikasa was tired of their friendship too but never in a million years would she think to cut off Eren in her life. He was too precious to her. She’s apologized before for being so clingy to him and he’s apologized for making her worried, but today sparked a change of heart in the young 8th graders.

Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, “I’m sorry…” she whispered. Eren felt his heart drop seeing the expression on her face but he had to do what he thought was best. He turned to look away from her cry and finally said what has been on his mind for the past few years.

“Mikasa listen, I don’t think it’s best for us to be friends anymore…”

\---

"Bertholdt looks like you lose! You know what that means!" Reiner laughed as he slapped his tall friend in the back.

"Alright, alright what does everyone want?" Bertholdt sighed. The boys were playing a game of cards to see who had to buy their drinks for lunch that day.

Connie tugged at his plaid, forest green tie and told Bertholdt his order, "Can I just get a water? It's so hot in here damn...".

The spring semester just started in Titan High, which was one of the most highly distinguished private schools in the Maria District. The school had switched their students to their summer uniforms earlier due to the increasing heat in Japan. Their white long-sleeved polo and black sweater vest were replaced with white short-sleeved polos with the emblem 'Wings of Freedom' engraved on the breast pocket. After taking note of what his friends wanted Bertholdt left for the vending machines. Eren noticed him stop halfway throughout the cafeteria to animately talked to a table full of girls.

"Ah, shit now we're never gonna get our drinks, Bert's distracted by all those pheromones," Jean said. The rest of the boys at the table groaned, yet too lazy to get up and get their own drinks due to the sweltering heatwave.

Eren couldn't help but stare at a particular girl. Armin nudged his side, "Hey Eren, don’t you think its time to make up with Mikasa by now?”. Eren snapped out of his trance and turned to his blonde friend. Armin's dazzling blue eyes analyzed his body language, “I mean its been two years now. Look, you constantly glance over at her. I know how much you miss her.”

“Armin we're fine. It was for the best and we're both doing a lot better without each other.” He felt his chest tighten after finishing his sentence. If he were more honest with himself, he would tell Armin that he felt like a part of his soul has been ripped from him since Mikasa left his life. After that conversation two years ago the two barely talked since then. It was hard to believe that his words alone caused their friendship to completely vanish. The went best friends since pre-school to mere acquaintances. Since Mikasa moved into the house right next to Eren's the two did almost everything together. They would sleepover, have dinner at each other's houses, and even had a birthday party towards the beginning of March right in between the two's birthdays. Although they fought often, they just couldn't seem to stay away from each other. It was awful "friends break up", considering how close their families were aswell. Eren and Mikasa kept up their facade during bi-weekly family dinners, but they rarely even looked at each other in the face. Their parents have noticed the strange behavior and the lack of their child's best friend in the house. When they asked the other about Mikasa/Eren the only answer they received was _'We grew apart'_.

“I bet she misses you too…” Armin added in. Mikasa barely voiced her opinion to Armin, her other best friend, about her situation with Eren. It was always a, “I don’t wanna talk about it. He doesn’t want me around him and I’m going to respect that” type ordeal every time he mentioned it to her. It was hard on Armin as well. It was a stressful situation going to the latter's house knowing that the other was right next door.

Armin had to admit that the two years of distance grew their personalities well. Eren's sense of logic developed due to him trying out new sports and activities. While he would get in trouble or hurt, he would have to find his way out of the situations he put himself in, something that wasn't possible with Mikasa on his back. Eren was a hard-headed kid and still is, but he became more cautious and learned to plan out his actions thoroughly. Mikasa, on the other hand, became more social. Eren was always the one speaking for her in group situations because she was so shy. Since losing her other best friend, she strengthed her relationships with Sasha and Annie who lead her to having more friends in high school. Instead of worrying about Eren all the time, she became less stressed and thought about her interest and likes more. Both of them have matured immensely but there was still a void in their hearts aching for their long lost best friend .

“I bet she doesn’t.” Eren shook his head and walked over to the trash can with Jean to dump the remains of his chee-burger. They passed by Mikasa's table along the way.

“Hey look it’s Eren! He’s sooo cute!” Historia quietly squealed at their table. Mikasa flinched at the comment. Not a lot of people knew about her history with Eren. When they were younger Mikasa, Eren, and Armin mostly played alone together. After that dreadful conversation with Eren, Mikasa was on her own to make new friends. Mikasa befriended Sasha and Annie right away because they also played on her soccer team in 8th grade. Only those two girls knew because of Mikasa's breakdown one day after practice over losing her best friend.

“Oh my gosh, I know aren’t his eyes absolutely gorgeous,” Hitch sighed and stared at the boy with her chin propped on her hand. “Mikasa you are sooo lucky to be his neighbor! Mikasa?”

Mikasa was staring at his retreating back. She turned to look at the brunette, “Huh? Oh, I guess I am?" she shrugged her shoulders. 

“What is your problem? You guess? He is literally one of the hottest guys at this school! I bet you’ve accidentally seen him with his shirt off since your room windows face each other right?” Hitch smirked.

Mikasa cringed. Hitch wasn’t wrong. Eren had the tendency to walk around the house without his shirt on. He also rarely closed his curtains. She vividly remembered seeing him hop out of his bathroom freshly showered. His six-pack abs were in full view and water dripped down from his hair to the v-line of his body-

“Oh yeah, she definitely did see him. I mean look at her face.” Historia laughed pointing at her. Mikasa blushed, “Stop it guys! Not my fault he never closes his curtains.”

“You have to admit. Eren is super cute.” Sasha couldn't even help but sigh at the sight of the boy.

It was their freshman year of high school when Eren's appearance shocked everyone. Eren who was the same height as every other girl in Shingashina Middle, suddenly hit a major growth spurt the end of that eighth-grade summer. Now into their sophomore year Eren stood 5"10 and was not going to stop growing there. Eren's older brother Zeke, whose a senior now, stood over 6 foot and it was about time Eren caught up to him. His height wasn't the only thing that changed drastically. Eren was known to be quite weak. Mikasa could easily wrestle Eren to the ground when they were younger. Over the summer, he worked with Zeke as a landscaper and caddie boy for country clubs. He would be out in the sun for hours a day and be constantly lugging around heavy bags of golf clubs for the members. Along with a summer job, Eren juggled playing his newfound sport, soccer. He ditched football immediately after trying out soccer. He was a natural at it. In fact, he was selected to be in the Varsity soccer club at Titan High, which was seen as god-like because of him only being a sophomore. All these activities sculpted his body and tanned his skin beautifully. His hair was a soft golden brown and his striking emerald green eyes hid behind long thick eyelashes. His looks and his stern yet outgoing personality attracted many female eyes everywhere he walked. Everyone knew the name Eren Jeager and it annoyed Mikasa. She had to admit it. Eren was extremely attractive.

The 7th-period bell rang loudly causing a sea of black and green moving throughout the hallway. Everyone quickly grabbed belongings out of their lockers and went to their respective classes. Eren and Mikasa shared only one class together and that was Calculus I taught by Mr. Hannes. They sat further away from each other and never spoke once while in the classroom.

 _‘Crap.’_ Mikasa thought. _‘Forgot my calc book, at least we have a few minutes till class starts’_. Mikasa got up from her seat and walked out the door while passing Eren and his group of friends who sat by the entrance of the classroom.

“Damn.” Jean whistled. “I swear Mikasa gets hotter day by day”. Reiner nodded furiously, “Agreed agreed, did anyone see her skirt fly up little? I think she’s wearing pink panties today” Reiner smirked. Eren felt his face get hot. Even though he stopped talking to Mikasa, he couldn't control his friends constantly chattering about her.

“I don’t think hot is the right word for her. She's beautiful.” Bertholdt blushed.

“What you got a crush on her Bert?” Eren prodded.

“What? No, I don’t think she would ever look my way.” Bertholdt said while moving his hands wildly.

“I heard she has a thing with that upperclassmen, Erwin. That guy on the baseball team.” Jean said spitting Erwin's name out like it was poison in his mouth.

“Since when?” Eren asked. He remembered when he would come over to Mikasa's house that he would often see Levi, Zeke, and Erwin hanging out together. It was odd to him that Mikasa would date one of her big brother's friends.

“I heard they were at that new Chee-burger joint that just opened in Shingashina last weekend.” Renier said.

“Oh..” Eren said with his burrows furrowed in thought.

Jean turned himself in his seat to face Eren. “You got a titan up your ass Eren? What’s bothering ya? If anyone in our group could get with her it would be you. You're her neighbor for christ's sake!”.

“Oh shut up Jean, she’s not my type!” Eren shot back.

“Uh-huh sure, you would be the only one” Jean laughed.

As if on schedule the door slid open to reveal Mikasa walking back in. Eren heard Jean whisper to Reiner, “Yup they are definitely pink”.

Eren inwardly groaned. He couldn't help but stare at his former best friend's profile. Mikasa grew beautifully during these past two years. He remembered her being quite short when they were younger. Mikasa's parents have their heights including Armin's marked in the wood of her basement's doorway. Eren and Mikasa would always be close in height with Armin always being shorter then they were. Once sophomore year came around she suddenly grew to be 5"6. Her height wasn’t the only thing that grew drastically. Erens eyes lowered to her chest. Her breast became the talk amongst the guys in his grade.

 _“Mikasa has the perfect sized boobs! I’m guessing a C-cup hehe...”_ He remembered those being Jean's exact words, the day the boys were having a deep discussion about the best bodies in Titan High.

Eren quickly removed his eyes away from her and stared out the window instead. He wants to forget the day he saw Mikasa clearly through her window. It was about 2 months ago when Mikasa carelessly left her white curtains halfway open, allowing Eren to see everything occurring in her room. He couldn't help but watch Mikasa take off her shirt and bra, revealing her well-endowed chest and toned stomach. That wonderful sight kept him up all night that day. Not only did Mikasa have an alluring body, she was also extremely pretty in the face as well. When they were younger he remembered his mother praising Mikasa for her 'nice milky skin'. Mikasa had silky black hair that grew past her shoulders paired with onyx eyes that shined brightly behind her thick long lashes. She was truly the epitome of the perfect girl next door. He had to admit it. She was hot as hell.

\---

That night Eren laid on his bed wondering how he felt about the girl living right across from him. Unbeknownst to him, Mikasa was thinking about him too.


	2. Calculus and Jagerbombs

After school hours, the halls of Titan High were still filled with students who were waiting for their club sports to begin. The boys could always be found this time of day at the grand stairwell leading to the second floor of the school. Large windows scaled the walls that gave a wonderful view of the school's prized rose garden with a white victorian gazebo in the middle. Gold-colored railings wrapped the grand stairwell which settled on top of white marble flooring. The light from the windows reflected off the glossy floors giving an airy feel to the environment. One could find Eren and Amin sitting on the window still, Connie and Bertholdt sitting next to them on the stairs, and Jean and Reiner leaning aginst the railings across from them. Titan High held many scenic locations within its walls but this was by far the boy's favorite hangout location. 

The boys were talking about their plans this weekend. The word about Historia's party buzzed around campus, and no one could resist partying at the Reiss mansion. 

“Hey, Armin you coming with to Historia’s?” Eren asked his best friend. He was already donned in his practice uniform waiting for the right moment to head out into the turf fields. 

Armin held a puzzled look on his face. He liked to go out every once in a while but he was most happy snuggled up in bed watching conspiracy theories and documentaries. It has been a while since he went out with the boys which concluded him to his final decision. 

"Ah, I guess I could use a study break.” He let out a small smile.

“Alright, buddy! There you go, let loose for one weekend!” He threw his arm across Armin’s tiny shoulders. “We are gonna get trashed.” Eren sang as shook his blonde friend around. 

“And let’s get you laid Arlet.” Reiner joked.

“Ha, ha, ha, very funny guys I won’t be doing either of those things.” Armin threw Eren's hand off him. Armin was a whole year behind his friends when it came to losing his virginity and partying. The boys always teased him about such things but never pressured him into changing who he was. They liked having a calm and mannered guy in the group. 

“Suit yourself save the ladies for me.” Jean said with a grin on his face.

“No girl would want to sit on your horse-face.” Eren said as he threw his soccer ball at Jean.

Jean, being on the basketball team, used his quick reflexes to catch the hauling ball right before it nailed him on his handsome face. “My body count says different Jaeger.” He threw the ball back with more intensity.

Eren and Jean has quite the reputation for being flirtatious. Jean was more outgoing then Eren. He freely expresses his interest in girls. Eren was more charming and smooth with his words. He would say his taste was more selective then Jean's. The girl would have to really catch his attention for him to want to get in their pants. They had all been juniors: Petra Ral, Freida Reiss, and Isabel Magnolia. He didn't have any intention of dating at the moment. Eren couldn't find a girl who made him truly happy. 

"Hey boss!" 

The boys looked up to see an auburn-haired boy with a bright smile on his face. 

"Hey Floch," Eren said with a sweatdrop. Floch was a freshman who basically worshipped the path Eren walks on. He was also on the boy's junior varsity soccer team, the same spot Eren was when he was a freshman. Eren would respect the kid if it weren't for Floch being so obsessive over him.

"Are you going to Historia's party this weekend?" Floch asked him while completely invading his personal space. If you looked closely you could see Floch's tail wagging back and forth as he was talking to Eren. Eren put his hands on both of the kid's shoulders and pushed him slightly back. "Yes, I am Floch but you know the rule about freshman right?". 

"What do you mean sir?"

Jean facepalmed, "You haven't heard of the Reiss sister's rule?." 

Floch gulped, "No...what rule?"

Connie, Reiner, and Bertholdt all crossed their hands to form an 'X', "NO FRESHMAN ALLOWED" they chorus. Floch's face dropped at the statement. 

Eren patted his juniors back, "It's alright. Believe it or not, Historia was kicked out of her own house when Frieda started to have parties when she was a freshman. Just wait a couple months for your moment." Floch's eyes lit up at Eren's kind words. "Yes, sir! If you just need a DD call me anytime!" Floch gave Eren a salute and ran back to the locker rooms. 

Jean let out a snort. He wasn't a big fan of Floch or his hairstyle. "See Eren those are the kind of girls you attract." After finishing his sentence a soccer ball hit him square in the face.

"Jaeger I will kill you-"

Out of nowhere, a flash of brown tackled Connie from behind, "Connie!" Sasha cried out with her nose running. 

"What the? Sasha?" He looked down at the girl clinging onto his chest. She was in her Kyudo (archery) practice kimono. 

"What's wrong Sasha?" Armin asked her with a worried expression on his face. 

Sasha sneezed into Connie's soccer jersey, "Mikasa did something terrible!". The boys turned their head at the voices they heard behind them. Mikasa and Annie appeared walking down the stairwell to meet up with the group. Their hair was pulled up into high ponytails and they were both wearing white polos tucked inside a tennis skirt with their tennis racket bag strap crossing their chest. The two usually held stoic faces but in the moment it was twisted into laughter. 

Annie began to tell them the story of what happened during 8th period. 

Sasha clasp her hand over Annie's mouth to cut her off. "Let me finish the story...and then we were all laughing! Mr. Shadis came back and was super pissed as to why we're so hysterical. He questioned why we were being so loud when we were supposed to be quiet during the study period. He wouldn't let us leave until someone said something. No one was going to tell him that we were talking about his shiny bald head. Then Mikasa-"

"I truthfully told him-" Mikasa started.

"She raised her hand and LIED saying that I farted super loud." The brunette's hand flew up in the air recalling the ending of the story. 

The whole group erupted into laughter. "Haha, Sasha maybe you should learn to control your farts." Armin chuckled. 

"I DIDN'T DO IT ARMIN!" Tears formed around her golden-brown eyes. 

Mikasa sighed and took out choco bread from her bag and handed it to Sasha, "I'm sorry. Here, eat this." 

As if someone flicked a switch, Sasha's expression changed from depressed to happy just like that. Mikasa always gave in to her puppy dog face. 

Eren smiled looking at the scene in front of him. He was happy that Mikasa was making so many friends and how outgoing she was becoming. She became a completely different person then she was years ago. It was the same Mikasa but a more improved version of herself. 

The girls walked past the boys to get to tennis practice, "See you guys later." Annie said. The guys collectively said their goodbyes. 

For a second Mikasa's eyes met Eren's. They acknowledged each other with a slight nod as Mikasa moved around him. 

\---

That Thursday, the boys relocated to the gazebo in the middle of the rose garden for lunch. It was a beautiful day out, the sun was shining and the sky was painted a bright blue. A wind carried a cool breeze over Japan, lowering the warm temperatures they had been experiencing. 

“Hey, guys!”

The boys looked up to see a stunning blonde-haired and blue-eyed girl walking towards them. The red and pink petals swirled around her, making her look like an artwork of Van Gogh's. 

Historia smiled as wrapped her arms around Armin's shoulders and propped her chin on his head. Armin didn't know it but he was basically the girl's best 'guy friend'. “ You guys are coming Friday right?” she asked them. 

“W-We wouldn’t miss it for the world Historia.” Reiner quickly replied, with a light blush on his face. Reiner was the alpha male of the school. His strong build lead them to almost winning districts in football. It was odd seeing a guy as tough as him crumble under the gaze of Historia. Everyone knew about his crush on the goddess of Titan High, but the goddess herself.

“Yay! Looks like there's going to be a big turn out!” She happily exclaimed.

“Hisu, is Mikasa going by any chance?” Armin asked politely.

“Mikasa? Of course! She’s been so busy with calculus lately. I think she’s gonna go all out this weekend.” she said with an evil glint in her eyes.

“Mikasa obliterated is something I’ve only seen a couple of times...this is gonna be awesome!” Jean pumped his fist into the air.

 _‘Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mikasa drunk before’_ Eren thought. He wondered if her alcohol tolerance was as strong as his. 

“I know I am so excited for her. You guys have no idea once Mikasa starts drinking she does not stop talking, it's so cute! Anyways I’ll see u guys at 10 sharp and you know where.” She left, not before giving them a wink.

“You guys think that wink was to me? She was looking right at me.” Reiner blushed deeply.

“Ehhh, a bit of a stretch Rein but you can dream hahaha" Connie smacked his neck. 

\---

The next day flew by quickly. As the students were nearing towards their finals, everyone couldn't help but be overly excited about the Reiss party. They needed to unwind before the difficult week ahead of them. Mikasa, Annie, Sasha, Hitch, and Ymir were in Historia’s room getting ready and pregaming while doing so.

“Mika you look so freaking hot!” Sasha squealed. Mikasa looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pink satin tank that showed off some cleavage with high waisted light washed jeans, paired with white sneakers. Her hair was down and she has on some light makeup with plenty of lipgloss.

“Thanks” she softly smiled.

“Erwin is going to eat you up!” Hitch smirked.

Mikasa blushed, “I’m not sure if I like him yet but he is so nice to me”.

Mikasa watched her friends and thought that they all looked so pretty. The night was going to be a good one she could feel it. “Alright girls help me out, let’s get this party started!” Historia motioned for everyone to leave her room as the girls let out one big cheer. 

\---

It was midnight and Eren and the boys were hammered and a little high as well. Armin even managed to get second-hand high and had a couple of drinks himself. The music was loud, the lights were dimmed, and colorful LED lights illuminated a rainbow glow across the many faces of the party-goers. Frieda and Historia really outdid themselves with the decorations. 

Eren was singing along was his friends in the kitchen to the song ''Sweet Caroline'. Reiner had his big arms wrapped around all of his friends, swaying the group side to side. The football player was also singing the loudest of them all. Eren spotted a pink figure walking (more like running) up to Armin and broke Reiner's hold on them.

“Arminnn!” Eren was shocked to see it was Mikasa who wrapped her arms around Armin’s shoulders and looked as if she were about to kiss him.

“Mikaaa! How’s it going?” His friend hugged the girl around her waist.

Her giggles was like music to Eren’s ears, “Haha, so good I was so stressed about school. I’m glad we're both letting lose tonight!”. Armin nodded, “I miss you so much, I forgot to tell you about the…” Eren turned his head and walked towards the pong table where Zeke and Levi were going up against Pieck and Frieda and to his amusement, the girls were already three cups ahead of them. He didn’t want to hear the conversion Armin and Mikasa were having, it hurt him too much to even look at her pretty face or hear her voice.

After thirty minutes passed by he heard Armin screaming his name, “ERENNN ERENN”. "Armin what the fuck no!” He heard Mikasa harshly whisper to him.

“ERENN where are you?” His blonde friend was directly in front of him but not looking anywhere in his direction.

“Armin I’m literally right in front of you buddy.” Eren laughed and turned his blonde friend’s head to him.

“OH there you are! Mikasa needs your help!’ In one swift motion, he pushed the girl into Eren quite forcefully. When Mikasa's body made contact with the front of his chest she let out a tiny gasp. Eren eyes widen and reached out to her shoulders to steady her. A jolt rushed through them when he touched her. They looked away from each other and blushed.

_He's warm_

_She's warm_

“Thanks.” Mikasa whispered. She felt herself holding her breath. She hasn't been physically close to him for two years. 

“No problem.” Eren said, slowly releasing his hold on the girl much to his chagrin.

He coughed, “So you need my help?” He said looking back at her. Mikasa looked at his face. Onyx orbs clashes with emerald green. The distance between the two felt extremely awkward yet comforting at the same time.

“Eeeee!” They turned to Armin who were staring at them with stars in his eyes. _Did he just let out that a girly sound?_ They thought. 

“Oh ahem, I mean Mikasa here really needs help on the next Calc test and I know you are both in the same class! I was thinking you could help her since your so good at it!” The blonde boy exclaimed. It was true Eren was a genius when it came to science and technology thanks to his father’s genes. Surprisingly enough, math is Mikasa’s only weakness.

“Why don’t you Armin? Your way better than us both?” Eren was confused about why he had to be the one helping her when his friend was no doubt going to be the future valedictorian of his class.

“Well, I’m in Calc III. I probably don’t remember much about the class I took when I was in 8th grade, and you guys have the same teacher! You’re better off than me!” Armin screamed over the blaring music.

Mikasa immediately butted in, “I mean you don’t have too, I could probably figure it out by myself.” she said quickly with a blush across her face. Eren thought this would be his only chance to finally make it up to his former best friend after all these years. He felt his heart racing in his chest. His ears were also turning red from embarrassment. ' _Why does she make me feel this way? Maybe it's because its the first time she's said more than one word to me in a year.'_ He thought. If there's one thing he knew for sure. Mikasa's gaze on him made his knees feel weak. 

“No I want to. I mean I’m pretty good at the material now, I can help with whatever you need. If you want too of course.” Eren managed to mutter out with his hand scratching his neck. Mikasa’s heart was beating wildly as she looked up at the attractive boy in front of her. _‘I’m talking to him after all this time’_ She thought. She was really glad that she drank lots of alcohol before talking to Eren again. Mikasa wasn't sure if she could manage to let a single word escape her lips without the help of liquid courage. 

“Um yes, I wouldn’t mind some help…” 

“Cool, I’m free tomorrow all day? I could come over or you could whatever works for you?”.

Mikasa tucked a hair behind her ear. Eren was pulled in her trance. He thought about how pretty she looked tonight. “I can come over. Levi is going to have Petra over and I don’t want us hearing that.” She laughed. Eren cringed on the inside, he was sure Levi did not want to see him either.

“Alright, my house at 1?”

“Yes.”

They both softly smiled at each other. “AHHHH omg lets do shots together!” They were broken out of their own world by Armin tugging on each of their arms trying to lead them to the kitchen. “Oh my gosh is Armin high?” Mikasa whispered in Eren’s ear. Her breath tickled his ear and he felt a warmth spreading in his stomach. Eren couldn't help but smile around the girl, “We hot-boxed him in Zeke’s car” Eren laughed when Mikasa slapped his shoulder.

Armin haphazardly cleared the granite counter full of red solo cups and shooters. Mikasa and Eren took a barstool seat facing the island as Armin poured Jagermeister in three shot glasses, with a splash of coke on the top. “Since when did he know to make shots” Mikasa said with a surprised look on his face. Eren was just as shocked, “Honestly he probably just learned from watching us”.

“I call this the JAEGERBOMB, haha get it EREN JAEGER?” Armin was basically screaming at this point. Eren and Mikasa both looked at each other and erupted in laughter. The three of them clinked their drinks, touched the table, and then threw their heads backs. Burning liquid ran down their throats. Mikasa and Amrin made a sour face.

“Wow, that was bad.” The girl pouted her lips.

“Wow, that was AMAZING!” Armin poured himself another shot.

Eren sweatdropped, “Wait Ar buddy I don't think you shouldn’t have another” he said as he reached for Armin’s glass.

“WOOF!”

“Did you just bark at me?” Eren looked at his friend weirdly. 

Eren went to grab for the bottle again. “WOOF, WOOF!” Armin bit Eren’s advancing hand.

“Ouch, what the fuck Armin?”. Eren tried to grapple him but the blonde escaped his grasp and ran to god knows where.

“You should probably go find him” Mikasa wiped tears out of her eyes from watching the scene unfold. Armin drunk was a never-before seen occurrence. 

“I could.." Eren leaned closer to her. "Or I could talk to you more?” His deep voice resonated in her ears. Mikasa couldn't help but swoon over his husky voice. 

"Eren I-“ Right before she could finish a hand slipped around her waist. 

“There you are Mika I thought I lost ya.” Erwin Smith shifted his attention to Eren. Blue eyes bore into green ones. “Jaeger, how’s it going, foot fairy?”. It was known at Titan high that the baseball team had a rivalry with the soccer team. Eren narrowed his eyes at Erwin. He was more annoyed at where his hands were on Mikasa. “Not bad benchwarmer.” he slyly shot back. Erwin scoffed, “As if.”

Erwin looked back at Mikasa and flashed her his perfect set of teeth. “Mikasa wanna play pong with me?”. Eren frowned at the way Mikasa’s eyes lit up, “Always! I feel bad for who were playing up against” She giggled. “I know were such a good team!” He high-fived her. Erwin let go of her and started walking ahead of her. “See you later Eren…” Mikasa waved at him. 

Before she could leave his sight, Eren involuntarily grabbed her hand. “Huh?” she looked back at him. Eren panicked in his seat. _Shit, why did you do that, quick think!_

“You look amazing…” He said.

Mikasa lost count at the number of times he made her blush within an hour. “Thank you, Eren” With that, he let her go and walked in the opposite direction. Mikasa watched his broad shoulders retreat before she turned around to walk back to Erwin.


	3. Study Buddies

Eren woke up at 11 a.m to his phone ringing. He groaned and turned to reach his iPhone that was charging on the desk next to the bed. He swiped his phone, “Yes Armin?” He said not so enthusiastically. He was planning on walking up 30 minutes later.

“EREN OH MY GOD” He heard his blonde friend screech from the other line.

Eren pulled the phone away from his ear. “Armin why are you screaming?”

“So you know how we went to the party last night?” He said in an urgent manner.

“Yes?”

“And you know how we drank and smoked at Bertholdlt's?”

Eren chuckled, “Well we drank and smoked and you were a little pussy-“

“You know what I meant! Then we drank a beer inside Historia's-“

“Well I drank three, you only had one-“ Armin cut him off not wanting to hear his friend teasing him at the moment.

“ANYWAYS and then we did those shots with Mikasa?”

Eren’s face felt hot at the mention of her name, “I remember”.

“And I drank what was left of the Jagermeister?”

“ARMIN! You drank the rest? Are you okay? Do you need me to come check up on you?”

“Yes, thank you for the concern. I’m okay but I did something bad…really really bad…”

“Oh, no did you break one of Historia's many flat-screen TVs”

“NO! I did something worst!…” He could hear the concern in Armin's voice. Eren's heart started to beat faster in worry for his best friend.

"What is it, man? Spit it out, you're making me nervous!”

He heard a muffled cry on the other line. “I’m in my living room right now, but Eren…there’s a girl in my bed” he whispered the last part.

“YOU HAD SEX-“ Eren felt like someone just dumped cold water on him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

“YES YES, I did” Armin cried.

“Well was it good? Who's the lucky girl?” Eren was flabbergasted, to say the least. Armin finally losing his v-card was the best news he has ever heard since the school closed down for a week straight due to too much snow last winter. This definitely topped that. 

“Yes actually it was amazing but sadly I don’t remember too much of it…” Armin sighed. 

“Aw, I’m sorry buddy you got plenty of other chances, now whose the girl?”

“Eren don’t freak out…”

“ARMIN WHO?”

“She’s blonde…” A lightbulb went off in Eren's head.

“HOLY SHIT you had sex with Frieda’s little sister? Wow that’s funny me and you both got around the Reiss-“

“IT WAS ANNIE!” Armin nearly screamed into the phone.

“NO FUCKING WAY!” Eren accidentally rolled out bed in shock.

“Congrats! You always thought she was cute!”

“Shhh, I know. What do I do? Do I make her breakfast or like wash her clothes, WHAT DO I DO?” Armin was basically ripping his hair out at this point.

“Alright listen, make her breakfast and prepare for a speech you gotta be smooth Ar, be sexy.”

“Eren I don’t know how to be sexy” His friend shot back immediately.

“You’ll figure it out buddy your so good with talking girls you don’t even notice.” Eren sighed. “You mean that? Thanks, Eren." He heard his friend take a deep breath through the phone. He couldn't imagine the stress his buddy was going through. Losing his virginity was intimate enough but to lose it to Annie Leonhart whom he had a tiny crush on since freshman year? His friend must be losing it at the moment. 

The blonde took a few more deep breaths and exhaled. He had to regain his ability to think after having a mini panic attack."Anyways, aren’t you meeting with Mikasa today?” Armin asked him. The phrase made Eren shoot up from his bed. He looked at his phone, it read 12:15. “Armin I gotta go I have less than an hour to get ready and clean my room! Ah, good luck. Keep me updated!”

“Okay, you too!” They hung up and Eren hopped on his feet right away.

 _'Shitshitshitshit.'_ His mind was scattered a million places. On one hand, he was trying to process the golden information his best friend just announced to him and on the other hand he was trying to prepare himself and his room as quickly as possible before the girl-next-door showed up. He hopped in the shower and washed off yesterday’s sweat. He absolutely could not hang out with Mikasa smelling like he just got out of soccer practice. After taking the quickest shower of his life, the brunette got out and wrapped his waist in a towel.

Eren quickly picked up the dirty clothes in his room and threw them inside the hamper in his closet. Cleaning his room only took ten minutes since he was usually very tidy, only leaving some articles of clothing here and there. The last step was to change. He threw on some grey Nike sweatpant joggers and a simple black short sleeve. He grabbed his comb raked through his soft brown hair. After giving himself one last look in the mirror, he smiled at himself in approval and ran downstairs to the smell of breakfast cooking. 

“MOM!” he shouted.

“Yes, honey?” Carla turned to look at him. 

“Do you know where the Febreze is at?”. That was a question Carla was not expecting him to ask.

She cocked her head downwards, “Underneath the sink!”.

He reached under and searched for what he was looking for. After finding it he wrapped one arm around his mother's shoulders and gave a peck on the side of her forehead. “Thanks, Ma. Also um...Could you possibly make one more serving?”

Carla put a hand on her hip and looked at her handsome son. She had an eyebrow raised, “Sure, for who?”

Eren blushed. “For Mikasa..." he muttered. Before he could hear his mother gushed about how Mikasa never comes over other than for their family dinner, he sprinted back upstairs to spray his room down. Although he is a clean boy, the smell of his jerseys always managed to stick in his room.

A whistle stopped in his tracks, “I’m guessing a girl is coming over?” He turned around to see Zeke leaning against the doorway, “Whose coming?” Eren groaned and returned to what he was doing.

“Mikasa.”

“Levi’s sister? I thought you guys called it quits years ago?” Zeke held a devilish look on his face. 

Eren rolled his eyes, “We did but it's a long story Zeke, are you leaving the house by any chance?” He was hoping to have no interruptions today. 

“No, I was gonna hang out with Levi today but he’s ditching me for Petra” Zeke groaned and turned away from his brother's room. “Keep it down if I hear one moan I’m telling Mom-“

“Oh shut up, that’s defiantly not gonna happen” Eren blushed. A boy could dream. 

It was 12:55 by the time he finished cleaning everything up. Eren sighed and laid on his bed to relax little before Mikasa came. He was trying his best to calm himself down by scrolling through twitter and watching funny videos. A few minutes later his peace was interrupted by his mom's loud voice.

“Oh, Mikasa! It’s so good to see you other than every two weeks!” he heard her say. 

Eren walked downstairs to see Carla rubbing her cheeks with Mikasa's while wrapping her arms around Mikasa's shoulders. He smiled at the scene. “It’s nice to see you too Carla” Mikasa smiled back at Eren once he reached them. 

“Mom leave her alone were trying to study," Eren's smiled faltered and was replaced with a blank face. He knew if he didn't intervene now Carla would talk Mikasa's ears off for the next hour or so. Those two always had a mother-daughter type relationship, since Carla only had boys. 

“Oh alright," Carla let go of the girl. "Have you eaten break yet Mikasa?”

“No. Not yet” She replied softly.

“Help yourself then sweetheart." Carla pointed to the plates with delicious food on the counter. 

Eren grabbed Mikasa’s plate for her, “I got it. Cmon Mikasa”. He proceeded to advance the stairs with Mikasa following shortly behind him.

\---

Once they reached his room, Mikasa couldn't help her eyes wandering around each corner of the bedroom. It's been years since she was standing in the exact spot she was in now. She would only be in the kitchen and occasionally in the living room playing Mario Cart with Eren and Zeke after dinner while her parents sipped on wine with his. She took note of the changes. Eren was blessed to have a ridiculously large bedroom courtesy of Grisha's earnings. The once baby blue walls were repainted white. His queen bed was against the only wall painted a navy blue color. His desk was next to the bed with nightstand diving the two. On top of the desk was his desktop and a picture of his soccer team in a black frame. The desk also had minimalistic decorations such as brown leather back book and a small trophy on top. Across from his bed on the other white wall was an entertainment area. He had two black ladder bookcases next to a large flat-screen TV in the middle. The ladders held his trophies and many framed pictures of his friends as well as pop sockets and more minimalistic decor. Mikasa smiled to herself, the room was modern, mature, and beautiful. She already knew Carla designed it all by herself.

Eren caught Mikasa looking around his room, “My mom redesigned mine and Zeke’s room almost a year ago. I really liked how it turned out." He especially liked the table next to his entertainment area where he and his friends would spend hours playing card games while getting stoned.

”I need her to do mine” she chuckled. Her room was lovely but the decor in his was stunning. She made a mental note to talk to Carla before she left. 

Mikasa walked over to the laddered bookcase and looked at the framed photos. Eren suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia hit him as he looked at the girl in front of him. Last time she was in his room, the were playing every party game he had on his Wii. He could picture a smaller Mikasa throwing her Wii controller on the ground in frustration at him beating her on Rainbow Road in Mario cart. Then later after tiring themselves out, they would lay on his couch and watch breaking bad for hours (much to his mother's dismay for watching an R-rated show at such a young age). 

Eren took this time, while she was distracted, to really get a good look of her. Her long hair was tied in a low ponytail and she was wearing peach-colored sweatpants joggers and a thin white long sleeve. She almost looked like a complete stranger to him. His mood shifted to a gloomy one. Eren couldn't believe how much time have changed both Mikasa and their relationship they had together.

Meanwhile, Mikasa was glancing through his photos. They were a collection of the soccer team, his family, and his closest male friends. The one picture that caught her attention was a picture of her and Eren when they were about 5 years old. They were wearing their kindergarten uniform and had cute little yellow bonnets on top of their heads. Eren's arm was around Mikasa’s with his other hand forming a peace sign to the camera. Mikasa also held up two peace signs with her hands and her face was mostly covered by a deep red scarf, gifted to her by Eren that day because it was snowing that day.

She closed her eyes at the memory of Eren wrapping his scarf around her.

 _“It’s warm right?”_ Mikasa remembered everything said word for word for that day.

“That picture is too adorable to not be on my shelf...” Eren came from behind her and leaned over her shoulder a little to better see the picture she had in her hands.

Mikasa looked at the picture with a somber expression, “This was taken such a long time ago…”.

Eren sensed the tension in the tone of her voice. Their situation was still a little awkward and he knew he had to address the elephant in the room before they could move on. He gathered up some courage before the words started to spill out of his mouth. “Mikasa about what I said, I-“ He was interrupted by her turning towards him with a bright smile on her face. It threw him off guard. 

“Are you ready to study? The test is Monday and I need to learn sorta now” She looked away quickly. It was hard to keep eye contact especially when he had the most gorgeous pair of emerald eyes.

Eren inwardly sighed, maybe his timing needed to be better before they have a proper conversation about their feelings. Eren shook away his thoughts. _'It would be best to talk about it another day'_

"Yeah, you're right." He walked over to the infamous game/rolling table in the middle of his room while dragging his book bag with him. Mikasa sat down next to him while putting a comfortable amount of space between the two. They both took out their laptops, notes, and sprawled it across the table.

A couple of minutes in independent studying Mikasa felt herself getting a headache due to her not being able to read the small print in front of her. In one motion, she donned her glasses and pulled her hair into a messy low bun. Eren couldn't help but glance at her. He gulped.

_Since when did she get so attractive? She looks like a sexy librarian. Dammit, focus Eren._

“Alright, I think that's enough time looking over our notes. So what are you stuck on?” He said while chewing on a piece of bacon he grabbed from the plates. She took a bite of her eggs and looked at him, “Everything since chapter 11 hehe..” Mikasa knew she was far behind.

Eren sweatdropped. _This is gonna be a long night._ He opened his textbook to the right chapter and started to discuss with Mikasa the context, "So you see the slope of a tangent line is another way to represent..."

\--

After two hours, Eren managed to go through each lesson with her and even guided her through the textbook problems. Mikasa couldn't help but tune out his voice sometimes due to being in awe. She was genuinely surprised at how intelligent he was on the subject. She knew since they were little Eren always had a knack for math and science. His spatial reasoning skills were amazing but now it seems as if he’s on a whole other level. She couldn't help but find that a very attractive quality about Eren Jaeger. 

As he was teaching her about derivatives, she scooted closer to him to see what he was writing down. Eren seemed to be in his own headspace and was extremely focused on what he was solving. Mikasa at this point was completely zoned out and instead, she opted to study his biceps that were bulging out from under his short sleeves. Her eyes traveled down the delicate veins protruding from his forearms which traveled all the way down to his long fingers. His veins shifted each time he wrote a number or an equation down.

 _'Must be from years of sports.'_ She blushed at her thought. Mikasa bit the tip of her pencil eraser as she analyzed the boy she had know for over eleven years. Sunlight flooded the room from the open curtains and danced gracefully across his handsome features. It highlighted his honey brown hair to look more golden and softer than ever. The light also reflected off his eyes and made them seem even greener with more clarity. His sun-kissed skin looked slightly flushed as it was getting warmer now in the space. He pulled the front of his shirt and aired himself out in response. Mikasa's heart lurched forward watching him do so. Eren was a true Adonis in the making. He was completely oblivious to the looks Mikasa was giving him. He finally looked up from his writing and she quickly turned her head to the paper in front of him.

“And that’s what implicit differentiation is. Did you understand that?” His dazzling green eyes bore into her dark ones. Mikasa shook her head, “Honestly no could you run it through one more time?” She was quite embarrassed at herself for not paying attention and instead was ogling her friend. 

Eren looked at the clock, it was 3:45. They have been going at it for almost three hours straight with no breaks. He put his pencil down and leaned on back on his hands as he looked at her. “Maybe we need a break?” Mikasa left out a sigh and leaned forward propping her elbows on the table, “Agreed.”


	4. I Miss You

_Eren ran up to the Ackerman household's door and knocked franticly. Hikari Ackerman answered the door and looked down at the cute little boy in front of her. She gave him a warm smile, "What can I do for you Eren?"._

_"I heard Mikasa was sick! Is she okay?" Eren flung his arms out wildly as he talked to his best friend's mom. He usually greets Mikasa at her door to walk with whichever parent that was escorting them to their elementary school that day. His teacher later told him that Mikasa came down with a cold and stayed home. After the bell dismissed the children for the day, he immediately rushed to the Ackerman home to check up on his best friend. Hikari patted the child's head to calm him down when she noticed small tears in the corner of his eyes. "My, my, don't worry Eren. It's just a cold she should be back once she rests over the weekend."_

_These words instantly brightened Eren's face. "Can I see her pwetty pwease?" he put on his best pouting face. It always worked on the adults he noticed._

_Hikari opened the door wider to let the boy in. "Alright, just a couple of minutes okay? Your mother would be upset if you ended up catching a cold as well!" Hikari shuttered at the thought. Carla was the complete opposite of her. She was calm and collected while her best friend was firey and upbeat. Hikari didn't want to face the wrath that would bestow upon her if Eren ended up sick._

_Eren didn't hesitate and took off his shoes before he ran with his tiny legs up the stairs to find Mikasa's room. The boy busted through the doors to find his friend reading manga while in bed. "Mikasaaaa!" before the girl got a chance to react he pounced on her and gave her a hug._

_"I was so worried when you didn't show up to class!" small tears welted up in his eyes again as he looked at her. Mikasa gave him a small smile. She was happy that Eren was thinking about her. He set down her missed assignments on a desk along with a small basket of fruit that he forced his dad to prepare for Mikasa. Eren went back to hugging his friend._

_"Thank you that was sweet of you. Also, get off of me I could get you sick." She pushed the boy away but he was still latched onto her. "No, I would rather get sick than to spend a whole school day without you! Do you know how boring it was with just Armin and me? Especially since he started reading a new book, he barely played with me!" Eren pouted and then he had an idea. The boy put a hand over her nose._

_"Eren what are you doing?" She couldn't breathe with her stuffy nose._

_"Sneeze on me" He looked at her with a serious expression._

_"Get out of here you weirdo!" She dramatically kicked him in the back to banish him from her room. Hikari looked at the two seven-year-olds with a sweatdrop. "They sure are lively when they are with each other," she thought._

...

Eren snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at the brief memory. He and Mikasa were snacking on some fruit his mom brought them. While they were eating, he couldn't help but reminisce about the moments they shared together. It was really bothering him since she came over that they've spent years apart and the root cause of that was his fault. Now all of a sudden she came back into his life and he couldn't help but notice the warm feeling in his chest grow as he talked to her. 

They would say it is because of them having similar activities and the same friend group that speaking to each other came naturally but actually, it was due to how compatible their personalities were. Mikasa was a great listener and would chime in every so often so Eren knew that she was paying attention. Eren was better at carrying out conversations and kept on asking questions and commenting on what she said. The two had easy-going personalities so it wasn't hard for them to shake away the awkwardness of talking again. Their conversations were normal as he talked to her about his friend's antics and the soccer club and she filled him in on her girls and the tennis team. Eren at the moment was explaining to her about Flock's obsession with him.

"Once I was looking for my water bottle during practice and I couldn't find it, so I had to scan the whole field. I asked all my teammates if they were pranking me like they usually do, but they were just as confused as I am. I was about to give up searching and just steal Connie's but then I see Floch in the distance running up to me saying 'Wait, boss! I filled up your water bottle for you!'. I mean, sure it was a nice thing for him to do but it's also a little creepy." He said finished up his story.

Mikasa let out a chuckled as she imaged the scene, "He just looks up to you, I would take it as a compliment." She wondered if Eren knew how many people respected him at their school. He was good-looking, smart, athletic, and kind. Perhaps his flaws were that he is known to be quick-tempered in certain situations and tend to do things his way without the care of others' opinions. She noticed how considerably pleasant Eren was to talk to now. Back then, Eren seemed to always be so angry at the world. He would get upset quickly and act out on his feelings. It seemed like he matured immensely in a matter of two years. One thing that didn't change was his hard head, however, it's admirable how diligent and crazy his drive is when he puts his mind onto something. 

Eren leaned back on his palms, "You're right" he said. The more he talked to Mikasa, the more he noticed how different she became. If this was Mikasa two years ago she would've scolded him for being what she considered was "rude" towards Floch. She used to be quite judgemental always putting in her opinions when it wasn't asked or needed. One would always find her in an argument with him over the smallest of things and if you add Eren's abrasive behavior when he was younger, together that became the downfall of their friendship.

Mikasa started to tell him about how Levi got mad at her the other day. "He stormed into my room and ransacked my closet. Turns out I literally took almost everything he had. Then he noticed how my clothes weren't organized by color and he ended up cleaning my whole closet! His OCD is crazy." Since Levi shared the same size clothing as her, she would always steal his favorite hoodies to wear. Her laugh ringed in the air after Eren made a joke about how Levi stopped growing his freshman year.

Seeing her refreshing smile left a pang in Eren's chest. He admitted to himself that he was having fun, however, the situation felt so wrong to him. He didn't think he deserved talking to her since he was the one that pushed her away in the first place. It wasn't like he didn't try back then. When they were freshmen he wanted to mend their broken relationship, so his plan was to simply knock on her door and apologizing to her right then and there. The plan failed because he couldn't find the courage to face her again. He was the confrontational type but when it came to situations as fragile as this one he had no clue how to act upon it.

 _'It's now or never Eren, don't be a bitch'_ he thought as let out a big sigh that he was holding in. 

Mikasa stopped eating her strawberries, "Is something wrong Eren?" she wondered if maybe she was the only one that felt like they were having fun. That thought made her chest feel tight. 

Eren sat up straighter and looked directly into her eyes. He ran this moment through his head hundreds of times. He wanted to fix what he had broken. All thoughts of the script he memorized left his mind as he found himself speaking with his heart.

"I missed you," he said. 

Mikasa's eyes widen slightly. She felt her heart race increased by the second as she aborded what he said. _'He misses me?'_ Never would she imagine hearing those words come out of his mouth. There was a long pause before Mikasa spoke, "I-" she started.

"Wait before you say anything let me explain myself." He felt like someone just broke through a barrier and all of his emotions started to flood out. 

"Mikasa I'm sorry that I'm such an asshole," he began with a lopsided smile on his face. "The truth is I wanted to apologize right after I said those harsh words but days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and then the window to apologize to you grew smaller."

Eren could feel his heartbeat in his throat as he confessed everything he felt during those gap years. "I pushed you away when we hit a rough patch and that makes me a terrible person and friend. Even though I felt that way at the moment, after everything we've been through, I should've spoken to you about how I felt like a normal person instead of ignoring you like a child." He felt his heart grow lighter as he kept on speaking. _'Tell her everything'_

"Every day I think about redoing what I've done and said in the past to you. When I see you in the halls or during our dinners my heart aches for my best friend again. I missed when me, you, and Armin would go on random trips to the beach, have spontaneous fast food trips, and going to the festival every year with you. I missed having you by my side and reaching out to you whenever I wasn't okay. More importantly, I missed your smile and laughing with you..." This made a blush cross the girl's face. Eren mistook this for anger and he took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. 

"I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for doing this to you. You never deserved any of it. So I understand if you hate me and never want to talk to me again after this." He finished. Eren averted his eyes to the floor and waited for her response. He was ready to face rejection. He prepared himself for her to either yell at him or walk out the door. What she did was the exact opposite. 

"I missed you too," she breathed out. Green eyes snapped up to meet her dark ones. Eren's heart dropped when he saw tears run down Mikasa's face as she reiterated what she said, "I missed you so much." 

As if on instinct Eren wrapped his arms around her waist and drew his body close to hers. Mikasa threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Mikasa cried as Eren rubbed her back softly to soothe her. For a while, they stayed like that until the brunette felt her take in a shaky breath. Eren tried to gently push her back so he could talk to her properly but Mikasa kept her position. "Wait, don't move I don't want you to see me cry," she mumbled slightly embarrassed. Eren nodded understandingly. Mikasa rarely cried. She wasn't the one to display her emotions like that. 

She lowered herself onto his chest and gripped the front of his shirt, still tucking in her head in his neck. Her breath tickled him as she spoke, "Eren I could never hate you. Honestly, I was also a bad friend for not trying to mend things before it got worse even if you did push me away. I could've tried too but I never did. I'm also to blame." 

Eren laid his cheek on the top of her head and his grip her around the waist grew tighter, "Say all you want but it's still my fault. I'm the jerk here not you, don't try to blame yourself". 

Mikasa felt her next words being lodged in her throat. She felt the warmth from the embrace and Eren tracing circles on her back making her relax in his arms. She was extremely thankful that Eren was the first to speak up. His courage gave her the strength to continue on.

"No, I was wrong for trying to keep you from doing what made you happy. I couldn't help but feel so overprotective around you. You're so important to me I hated to see you get hurt" she sniffled. 

"After you said that I thought that maybe the distance was good for us you know? We kept on bumping heads every chance we got with each other. But later I realized that losing you was like losing a part of me. I'm sorry too for being so judgemental with you back then. I must've been so annoying" she let out a weak laugh. 

Eren shook his head, "You saved me from a lot of trouble and I took that for granted." he said 

"Well, you kept me humbled and I didn't realize that either" she replied back. 

He felt her move in his grasp and he let her go as she moved to sit in front of him. Her eyes were puffy but the tears were gone. She gazed into his emerald eyes, "I missed our sleepovers, our camping trips, and pranking Armin. I missed watching you play sports and cheering you on. I forgive you Eren but can you can forgive me?" 

Eren genuinely smiled at her, "Of course Mikasa. Can we be go back to how we were? I need my best friend back."

Mikasa nodded, "Yes, you are so worth it." 

"I promise you I will never be an asshole to you ever again" He lifted up his pinky. He hated doing cheesy things like pinky promises but he remembered how Mikasa loved to do so with him and Armin. For her, he would do anything. 

Mikasa entwined her own around his and laughed, "And I promise to not be fussy and respect your choices". 

Eren couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked even with tears in her eyes again. Her smile was dazzling and he wanted another chance to protect it. It took two years for them to reconcile and the heavyweight has finally lifted off their shoulders. 

... 

Eren broke the silence, "So did you hear from Armin?" he grinned. 

Mikasa's eyes lit up, "Annie called me this morning freaking out." 

"Armin called me too. It's very ironic that they..."

Soon, the calculus problems were quickly forgotten. 


	5. Equipment Closet

"Eren someone is looking for you," His classmate tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up from his phone to see Mikasa waiting for him at the door clutching a piece of paper. He was a little surprised to see that she came all the way to his advanced government classroom to see him.

Since that day they were interacting more and more in school. They weren't completely comfortable with each other yet but both of them were happy to see the latter trying. 

"Oi, Mikasa what's up?" He said as he leaned against the door frame.

The pretty dark-haired girl handed him the paper with a bright smile on her face, "Look, it's my calc test". Eren grabbed the paper from her and looked for the score. Once he laid eyes on it his eyebrows raised. She received a 98.

"Wow, Mikasa that's great you even did better than me" He couldn't expect less. Once given the right guidance she could crush him in any subject. Ever since he had met her she seemed to pick up on things quickly, in other words, she's a genius.

"It's all thanks to you. I've never gotten this high of a grade on a calc test before. You are the best tutor," the girl praised him openly. 

He scratched his cheek and felt a blush rise, "It's no big deal, I'm always free to help." 

Mikasa took his hand, "I owe you one. Seriously, is there anything that you want? I'm extremely grateful for this!" Her actions made the rest of the class chatter and Eren took notice of the gossip that was starting to form. 

"We can talk about this later, I have to go back the teacher is about to come in. I'll see you during gym?" He said as he started to push her back to the hallway. She said her goodbyes and left for her next class. 

When Eren sat down in his seat he was bombarded with questions. 

"Ehh, you're friends with Mikasa-senpai?" 

"Are you guys dating?"

"She's so gorgeous, please tell her I said that!" 

"I thought she was seeing Erwin-san?"

Eren twitched at the last question and replied back quickly, "She is not dating anyone." His classmates grew quite due to his sudden outburst and went back to their seats. Eren didn't notice it but everyone could see how red his ears were getting. 

\---

Mikasa was known as the cool beauty throughout Titan High. She gives off a very mature atmosphere which made her respectable among the upperclassmen. Along with her gorgeous face and body, there no question of how she became one of the most popular students even though she is only a sophomore. It was hard not to like her when she is unproblematic and never caused anyone trouble.

These were some of the reasons why Erwin adored her. Erwin's mind was always going in many directions. He tends to find himself overstressed and Mikasa's words and presence calms him down. He wondered if it maybe was an effect both the Ackermans had but after getting to know Levi and Mikasa more he realized they were two completely different people. He couldn't help but ask out Levi's little sister. There was no stopping his feelings. It took a while for Levi to accept it but eventually, he gave him his blessing, and Erwin and Mikasa went out on their first date. He thought they clicked instantly, but never heard from her point of view. 

Currently, Erwin was walking Mikasa to her next class. He made this a habit every day since they were both going to the same wing for their last period. They stopped in their tracks at the intersection of the hallway.

He moved to hug her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "See you tonight?". He was actually coming over to their house since it was a Friday night, he wasn't there to be with her but it was a bonus to see her when he came to hang out with Levi. 

In response, her face tinged a light pink, "Y-Yes" she couldn't help but stutter when he was this close to her. Her reaction made him feel more confident and he gave her a light chaste kiss on the side of her temple. 

Mikasa watched Erwin's retreating back. She really didn't know how she felt about him. With a sigh, she turned her heels to get ready for her gym class. 

\---

Gym was the one class that the whole group shared. It became the most energetic class with the boys and girls together. 

"Oh man, I could never get tired of looking at Mikasa's legs." Jean groaned as he stared at the girl stretching with the rest of her group. The boys nodded collectively. 

Reiner elbowed Eren's side, "Speaking of which, Eren I've heard that Mikasa came to see you in your class today." 

Jean piped in, "Yeah what's up with that Jaeger? I even heard she was holding your hands? I'm sure it was the other way around." Eren threw a tennis ball in his direction to which he easily deflected. 

Their tallest friend spoke up as well, "I've noticed that you guys have been speaking to each other more lately? I honestly thought you guys didn't like each other since you rarely talked, to begin with," Bertholdt was always an observant one. 

Armin who heard the whole story of their makeup laughed and Eren glared at him. He leaned in closely and whispered so only the blonde could hear, "One peep from you and I'll tell everyone what happened between you and Annie kapeesh?". Armin looked at him in horror and nodded vigorously. For some unknown reason, Annie has refused to talk to Armin after their one nightstand. Armin decided to not even mention his loss of virginity to his other friends. He just didn't want to talk about the incident at all since it left a scar on his precious heart. 

Eren started to juggle the tennis ball on his racket as he spoke, "It's no big deal. She came over for tutoring and I realized how cool she was so were started talking more," Jean and Reiner let out a loud gasp. 

Jean threw his racket on the ground and put Eren into a headlock, "Jaegar did you just spill to us that you had sex with Mikasa by calling it tutoring? You son-of-a-bitch!" 

Eren chocked out a few words since he couldn't breathe, "No dumbass, I actually helped her," he managed to gasp out. Suddenly, a pain shot up his leg and he glanced down to see Reiner latch onto his calf with his teeth, "Reiner what the hell! Gahh!" 

When Eren though it couldn't get worse his eyes widen when he saw Connie in this distance loading the tennis ball launcher towards his crotch. "This one's for the boys!" Connie yelled out, "For taking all of our women! Jaeger must perish!" 

The boys chanted back, "Jaeger must perish!" 

The girls watched the scene from the next tennis court. They couldn't hear what they were saying but they knew the exchange was most likely something idiotic. 

\---

"I swear they are the stupidest group of guys I have ever met." Ymir groaned. 

"I think that looks kind of fun, I sorta wanna join them," Sasha said as she slowly made her way over to Connie. Ymir held her shirt to pull her back, "I think not. You might get hurt in that gunfire". She was talking about the tennis ball war the boys were having. 

Historia sighed, "Don't you guys feel so bad for Armin! He's so kind and gentle he would never act like those dorks!"

Sasha nodded, "I agree, I wonder how he managed to become friends with him? They all have one thing in common tho..." 

"And what's that?" Mikasa asked after finishing her practice serves. 

Sasha looked at the girls with a little bit of drool in the corner of their mouth, "They are stupid hot...". The girls nodded collectively. 

Historia hugged Mikasa's arm, "Ne, ne, Mikasa who would you date out of that group?"

A certain handsome face flashed in her head but the image was gone once she saw a tennis ball coming at her with speed and bounce off her forehead with force. Her head snapped towards the culprit. Annie stood at the other side of the court snickering while waving her tennis racket in the air, "Maybe if you were good at tennis you would be able to hit that back!". 

An idea quickly came to Mikasa's head. In order for Annie to hear it, she would have to say it loud and this would make the boys hear it too. She came to the conclusion that the pros outweighed the cons. "I think Armin is SO cute!" she announced.

Mikasa almost burst out laughing from seeing Annie's face turn bright red. Like Armin, Annie didn't want to mention what happened to the other girls for numerous reasons. 

Historia and Sasha shook their head in agreement, "I totally agree! He's so nice!" the blonde said. 

"I would have to agree, although he doesn't eat much it would be a nice bonus to eat his leftovers" Sasha chimed in. Food seemed to always be on her mind. 

Ymir rubbed her chin in thought, "Now that you mention it Armin would be the biggest gentleman to a girl. Although I hate how timid he can be, I would like a man to dominate me in bed." 

Mikasa found this to be the perfect opportunity, _'Thank you Ymir'_ she thought.

"No, I feel like he would be AMAZING in bed," her voiced raised to reach across the court, "you know what they say about the shy types. They are absolutely _crazy_." 

Everyone but a certain blonde nodded. 

"Very true."

"You are not wrong there."

"Maybe he has a big dick?" 

Then they heard a thump. 

"OH MY GOD, Annie are you okay?" 

From the other side of the court lay a pretty blonde with a bright red face. Annie Leonhardt has passed out from the embarrassment she felt. 

The boys from the court overheard the whole conversation. The got closer to the fence once they heard Mikasa's initial comment. Evil eyes whipped to look at their small blonde friend. Jean dropped his captive on the ground and Eren fell in a sideways position while cupping his balls from the pain he felt from the direct hit to his crotch. 

Armin froze. He could see the flames behind Jean, Reiner, Connie, and now Bertholdt who joined the mess.

"Look Mina's butt is hanging out!" he pointed behind them. The boys took the bait and turned their heads, which gave Armin the opportunity to escape so he broke out into a spirit. Bertholdt was the first to react and ran after him. His longer legs caught up with the small blonde quickly and he easily scooped up Armin in his arms. Jean quickly put Armin into a headlock and Reiner held his legs down. 

Connie threw a ball into the launcher, "Arlet must perish!" he chanted. 

"Arlet must perish!" The boys yelled back. 

Now there were two boys groaning on the ground while cupping themselves. 

\---

"Did Mr. Shadis make you lock up the shed too?" 

Eren turned around to see Mikasa also carrying a crate of tennis balls. 

"Yeah, since I was laying on the ground the whole time." He chuckled. 

"How come?" she asked him innocently. 

"No reason! What about you?" He ejected right away. 

"I'm the only one besides Annie in the class that knows how to lock the shed. Annie passed out from the heat." 

"She's lucky Shadis had Armin take her the nurse's office right?" He grinned at her. 

"Oh absolutely," Mikasa joked back. 

"Oi Mikasa, Eren!" Jean and the rest of the group minus Armin and Annie followed behind him. They were already dressed back into their uniforms. "Do you guys want us to wait for you?"

"It's fine we still need to wait until Shadis gives us the keys to lock up," Mikasa said and Eren nodded in agreement with her. 

"Alright get home safely you two!" Historia chirped.

Eren and Mikasa both walked into the tennis club shed and poured the balls into a larger crate. 

"It's shitty. The one-day clubs are canceled due to maintenance and we have to be stuck with Keith Shadis bossing us around." Eren said. He was putting the tennis rackets into its individual slot on a rack. 

"And he even forgot to give us the key? He's probably going to come and check our work perhaps." she shrugged. 

As they were placing the equipment back into their proper places, they heard voices approaching. 

"I don't understand you. Why would you crawl out the window to avoid me?" A voice said. 

They both instantly recognized the voices. Eren whispered, "It's Armin and Annie! And they're finally talking?" 

"Man I really wanna hear what they are saying to each other," she whispered back. 

"Me too there's no way I could miss this" The boy started to look around the shed. "We need a place to hide." 

"How about here?" Mikasa opened the top to a jump pad that was hollow on the inside. The space was extremely narrow. They couldn't stand or crouch unless they wanted their hair to be seen and there wasn't enough space for them to sit across each other. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize how small this space was" she murmured. 

The sounds of footsteps were approaching quickly. This made them jump and pace around the shed to find a hiding spot. There was no other choice so without even thinking both of them hopped in and closed the top. Once settled in, they both froze realizing what position they were in. Eren went in first so he got to sit down. His knees were slightly bent due to the lack of room available. Mikasa came in after and fell right onto his lap, basically straddling his hips with her legs. When her bottom came into contact with his dick Eren wanted to die right then and there.

Since they were both in their thin gym uniforms they could feel every crevice of each other's body. The girl's uniform consists of very short red bottoms and a white tee. The boy's uniform was similar but with longer shorts. Mikasa was fully aware that she could feel the outline of little Eren. She was glad it was dark to hid her glowing red face. Eren, on the other hand, was a complete mess. He wanted to adjust the girl on his lap because she was putting direct pressure on him and he couldn't help but think it felt _so damn good_. Mikasa gasped softly when she felt his hands travel up her thighs and touch her butt. 

"Sorry I was trying to move ya, I guess it can't be helped," he said. It was an innocent mistake that allowed Eren to feel the fullness of her ass, something he will remember when he goes to bed that night.

 _'His hands are really big'_ she blushed. She wondered how they would feel if they traced up her waist to cupping her- She shook her head to get rid of such thought. _'He's JUST a friend...a very cute and muscular friend'_ Mikasa moved her body backward so she wouldn't be completely on his lap. Because of his knees being bent she just slid back down basically grinding on him. She internally moaned at how good that felt. _'Mikasa you are a fucking slut stop thinking that!'_

"Ah, I'm so sorry Eren!" Mikasa whispered full of worry. 

"It's fine." Eren's voice was a pitch higher. This action completely made his brain short-circuit. 

_'Fucking hell Eren, if you pop a boner right now, she will NEVER talk to you again. Remember when Jean cleaned the toilet with your toothbrush during summer camp and you used it? Yeah, that's right you wanted to kill him'_ He tried to rid his mind of perverted thoughts to put his attention on something other than the glorious friction he felt below his waist. 

Eren felt hands lean on either side of his head and Mikasa's breathe brushed his right ear so she could peek out through the small hole of the jump pad that was conveniently next to him. 

"Sorry I wanna see..." she muttered. There was no space between their bodies at this point. Eren could feel her perfect breast pressing up against his chest and it made his thoughts go right back to the feeling in his dick. He summoned all of his will power to not react to this new position.

 _'If this were any other situation this would be so fucking hot'_ he thought. 

The cramped space left barely any room for ventilation. Mikasa and Eren were both breathing harder due to lack of air but also due to the thought of knowing how close they were to someone they thought was _so_ attractive. Their skin was sticking to each other and their sweat made their clothes adhere to the shape of their bodies. Every small movement made skin lightly graze the other. Needless to say, they were both hot and bothered.

Eren shifted his focus into listening to Armin and Annie to stop the raging boner he was about to get. Armin repeated his question, "Why did you leave? Was it that bad?" he could hear the tremble in his friend's voice. 

Mikasa saw Annie grabbing her arm with the other and her eyes were averted to the ground, refusing to meet Armin's eyes. "Armin..." Her voice was shaking something completely uncharacteristic of Annie. "You're the smartest and sweetest guy, our personalities are completely different. I figured that you thought it was a mistake." 

She then saw Armin grab her hand which made Annie look up to see him flash her a warm smile, "Annie, to be honest, I was drunk and don't remember much...but if anything out of all the girls I know I'm glad it was you I ended up sleeping with". 

Annie felt her face flush the slight compliment, "I'm sorry for avoiding you. I just didn't know what to do say to you..." 

Back in the small enclosed space, the two were commenting on the scene. "I'm so proud of our boy" Eren unknowingly was patting Mikasa in the back. 

"He's all grown up." Mikasa pulled back and from the small amount of light that was hitting her face, Eren could see her wipe fake tears from her eyes. 

"It's alright are we good now?" Armin asked rubbing her shoulders to calm her down. 

"Yes, It just shocked me that it happened" she sighed. 

"I-it was also my first time too, I'm sorry if it was bad..." Armin finished. 

"It was? Um, it was my first time too..." Annie looked at him with shocked eyes. 

"Ah really? I couldn't tell cause um well you really know how to move your hips." He rubbed the back of his head, it was quite embarrassing for him to admit. 

"Well, maybe we could um practice more?" the girl asked him. "So we could be better at this I mean..." 

Eren and Mikasa nearly chocked on their own spit when they heard this. They looked at each other with wide eyes. Both were thinking the same thing, _'What the fuck?'_

Armin's face was flushed and he let his hands fall to his sides, "I-I'm okay with that..." he mumbled. In order to prove that this was a reality, Mikasa saw him pinch his side. 

They both spoke simultaneously at the same time. 

"We cannot tell Eren-"

"I don't want Mikasa knowing." 

Armin straightened his back and let out a cough, "I agree we should keep this a secret, we can tell them later if they ask if something is up..." he managed to stutter out. 

Annie nodded, "Agreed. Let's go I think I heard Shadis voice." With that they walked out of the shed. 

Mikasa and Eren had to put their hands over their mouths to keep themselves from laughing the whole time. When they heard footsteps walking away they quickly got out of the space to let it all out. 

"AHAHA what the hell was that Mikasa? Am I going deaf or did I hear that correctly?" Eren felt his sides hurting from laughing too much. 

"They are way too cute! Armin is the most innocent person yet he agreed to such an arrangement, who is he?" She was leaning against the cabinet to support herself in case she fell down. 

"HEY, YOU TWO!" 

They flinched and turned around to see Keith Shadis glaring at them. 

"What is this mess? CLEAN IT UP NOW!" His look gave them shivers. 

"Y-Yes, sir!" 


End file.
